EVENTS HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA.
BEHIND THE SCENES, MOBILE MARKET, EMERGENCY FOOD BOXES AND MORE – APRIL 10
SPOKANE DRIVE-THRU DISTRIBUTION
On Saturday, April 25, Second Harvest hosted a drive-thru distribution at our Spokane hunger solution center. The distribution served more than 700 families. Read more about the event here.
MOBILE MARKET
Last week, our Mobile Market distributions in Spokane, Spokane Valley, Quincy, Smelterville, Bonners Ferry, Coeur d’Alene, Cusick, Benton City, Kennewick and Sunnyside provided food to more than 4,500 families.
Quincy Mayor Paul Worley wrote a letter thanking Second Harvest after the distribution there, saying, “Second Harvest is a model of those who have risen to the occasion in response to the needs of others, and we earnestly thank you for your support of our community.” Thank you to all the volunteers and donors across the region who have risen to the occasion to ensure our communities have the healthy food they need during this time.
Check out some photos from last week’s Mobile Market events below.
ADDITIONAL DELIVERIES TO PARTNERS
In order to keep up with the growing demand in the rural parts of our service territory, Second Harvest has formalized additional deliveries to several partners in the Tri-Cities, Mattawa, Royal City, Ellensburg, the Gorge, Toppenish and Yakima. These consistent deliveries of additional food will help meet the increasing need for food assistance due to COVID-19 in these communities.
BMAC WEEKLY DISTRIBUTIONS
Second Harvest continues to provide food for Blue Mountain Action Council’s distributions, which now serve 1,100 families each week. Times and locations of their weekly distributions are posted on their website.
WASHINGTON STATE FOOD ACCESS MAP
Second Harvest teamed up with Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest to create a statewide food access map. The map shows food banks and meal programs across Washington and provides information such as address, phone number and hours of operation. The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting service hours at some locations, so please be sure to call the number listed to confirm they will be open.
#GIVINGTUESDAYNOW
Mark your calendars! May 5th is #GivingTuesdayNow – a national day to make a difference. You can make a gift here to help ensure our neighbors in need during this crisis have access to healthy food. Your gift on Tuesday, May 5th will be generously matched, up to the first $35,000, by First Interstate Bank.
MAYOR WOODWARD SERVES AT SCHOOL DISTRIBUTION
Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward joined our distribution at Rogers High School on Monday, April 27. She helped distribute food to nearly 250 families. Thank you, Mayor Woodward, for helping ensure all Spokane families have the food they need during this time!
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Food Safety First: – April 19
In January and March, AIB International conducted audits of our facilities – the Pasco Distribution Center, the Spokane Distribution Center and the Wolff Family Child Hunger Solution Center. As has been the case for more than a decade, we received scores of 930 or higher, out of a possible 1000. Anything above 900 is considered exemplary.
While receiving high scores from AIB is important, we are equally proud of the fact that any day of the year, our team is always working to keep our buildings clean and our food supply safe. This speaks to the strong food safety culture we have here at Second Harvest.
A celebration of our volunteers – April 12
Volunteering doesn’t have to be a one-time thing and the individuals who volunteer at Second Harvest in Spokane and Pasco have proven that in many ways. Even though April is nationally recognized as Volunteer Month, our gratitude for your service is year-round. In the last couple of years, the Volunteer Center in Spokane has gone through various changes and adjustments to keep up with the increase in food demand, prompted first by COVID in 2020 and then by inflation. Even with the changes, our volunteer support has stayed and become even stronger. Our community is filled with mission-driven individuals to help us feed, nourish and build the community around us.
In The Kitchen: Food Waste Prevention Week – April 5
Earth Month is the perfect opportunity to reflect on our habits and how they impact the planet. We might think about how often we drive and take advantage of the nicer weather to bike to work, or maybe even grab some friends and family and find a river cleanup event for Earth Day. But did you know that you can make an impact without even leaving your house? In fact, reflecting on our cooking and grocery shopping habits has the potential to have a greater and long-lasting impact on our environment.
Feeding Eastern Washington and North Idaho
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